The Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, is an annual rugby union competition held amongst national rugby sides within the Asia Rugby region.[1] The competition was originally known as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament when founded in 1969, and was called the Asian Five Nations from 2008 to 2014.
The winner of the competition's top division is recognised as the rugby champion of Asia. The top division, sometimes referred to as the Tri Nations, includes the top three Asian teams each season. Division 1 includes the next four teams and Division 2 includes the next four. Division three is further divided geographically, with each of the West, East and South Central divisions including three teams.
As of 2017, Japan is the most successful team, securing 25 out of a possible 30 titles since 1969. They have not participated in the series since 2017.
The competition was formed as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament in 1969.[1]Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Thailand contested the inaugural Asian title. Japan were the champions on that occasion.
The tournament was held biennially for the most of its first four decades. It wasn't until 1982 that South Korea became the second team to win the title. The number of teams participating varied from year to year, with as many as 12 teams competing as other Asian teams joined the competition. From 1969 to 1996, there was a single division split into two groups. But in 1998, a second division was introduced as the game began to grow in Asia.
In 2003, a second Asian competition called the Asian Rugby Series was formed. The Asian Rugby Series ran alongside the Rugby Championship to help determine divisional allocations for the Asian Rugby Championship. With more teams competing, a third division was added to the Rugby Championship in 2004. The dual competitions ran until 2007.
Asian Five Nations Logo
Asian Five Nations (2008–14)
In 2008, the ARFU merged the Rugby Championship and Rugby Series into the Asian Five Nations. The competition became an annual championship and a promotion-relegation format was introduced. The winner of Division 2 replaced the loser of Division 1, and the winner of Division 1 replaced the loser of the Five Nations. For its inaugural years, no Division 3 took place, though several regional divisions were implemented across Asia. During the time of this competition, the main Five Nations division was dominated by Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong; the only three teams never to have been relegated to a lower division.
Asia Rugby Championship (2015 onward)
The competition was revamped again for the 2015 season as the Asia Rugby Championship. Under the new format, the top three teams formed a Tri nations division. A promotion-relegation challenge was instituted whereby the Division 1 winner had to defeat the Tri nations third place-getter to gain promotion for the next season.
Format
The current format sees the competition separated into various divisions, with a promotion and relegation format operated into each division. However, this only applies to Division 1 through 3, as the loser of the Tri Nations Division will play a play-off match against the winner of Division 1 to determine the third Tri Nations team for the following year. Where as the winners of Division 2 will automatically replace the loser of Division 1, and the two bottom placed teams in Division 2 will both be relegated down to one of the three regions in Division 3; West, East or South Central. Each of the three regions are made up three teams, and as of 2015, only the winners of the South Central and East divisions can be promoted to Division 2. This is because, the teams competing in the West region, are not considered as full members by World Rugby.
In 2015 in the main Tri Nations division, each team played each other on a home and away basis, picking up 5 points for a win and 3 for a draw. 2 additional points are up for grabs through bonus points, but in order to earn them, teams need to score 4 or more tries in a match, or when losing, lose by 7 points or less. In 2016 the points awarded were changed to 4 points for a win and 1 point for a draw with bonus points the same. For all Divisions, 1 through to 3, nations will only play each other once, with one of the included teams hosting all matches at home. These teams will also aim to pick points up for a win or draw, and gain bonus points. For all divisions, the team with the most table points wins their respective divisions, and if possible, earns promotion to the next division.
^† Able to be challenged by the winner of the division below to play in a promotion-relegation play-off.
^a Japan—as hosts of the 2019 Rugby World Cup–did not defend their Asia rugby Championship title in 2018 to allow the Tri Nations competition to form part of the 2019 Rugby World Cup – Asia qualification process. Instead of returning to the trinations for 2019, Japan played the Pacific Nations to prepare for the World Cup.
^ ab"History". Asia Rugby. 2016. from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^"Asian Championship 1986". Rugby Archive. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
^. Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 2018-06-24. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
External links
Asia Rugby
New structure announced
World Rugby
May 05, 2023
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The Asia Rugby Championship or ARC is an annual rugby union competition held amongst national rugby sides within the Asia Rugby region 1 The competition was originally known as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament when founded in 1969 and was called the Asian Five Nations from 2008 to 2014 Asia Rugby ChampionshipRecent season or competition 2022 Asia Rugby ChampionshipSportRugby unionFormerly known asAsian Five NationsInstituted19692008 as Asian Five Nations 2015 ARC Governing bodyAsia RugbyHolders Hong Kong 2022 Most titles Japan 25 titles The winner of the competition s top division is recognised as the rugby champion of Asia The top division sometimes referred to as the Tri Nations includes the top three Asian teams each season Division 1 includes the next four teams and Division 2 includes the next four Division three is further divided geographically with each of the West East and South Central divisions including three teams As of 2017 Japan is the most successful team securing 25 out of a possible 30 titles since 1969 They have not participated in the series since 2017 Contents 1 History 1 1 Asian Five Nations 2008 14 1 2 Asia Rugby Championship 2015 onward 2 Format 3 Current divisions 4 Previous winners 4 1 All time summary 4 2 Asia Rugby Championship 4 3 Division tournaments 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe competition was formed as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament in 1969 1 Chinese Taipei Hong Kong Japan Korea and Thailand contested the inaugural Asian title Japan were the champions on that occasion The tournament was held biennially for the most of its first four decades It wasn t until 1982 that South Korea became the second team to win the title The number of teams participating varied from year to year with as many as 12 teams competing as other Asian teams joined the competition From 1969 to 1996 there was a single division split into two groups But in 1998 a second division was introduced as the game began to grow in Asia In 2003 a second Asian competition called the Asian Rugby Series was formed The Asian Rugby Series ran alongside the Rugby Championship to help determine divisional allocations for the Asian Rugby Championship With more teams competing a third division was added to the Rugby Championship in 2004 The dual competitions ran until 2007 Asian Five Nations Logo Asian Five Nations 2008 14 Edit In 2008 the ARFU merged the Rugby Championship and Rugby Series into the Asian Five Nations The competition became an annual championship and a promotion relegation format was introduced The winner of Division 2 replaced the loser of Division 1 and the winner of Division 1 replaced the loser of the Five Nations For its inaugural years no Division 3 took place though several regional divisions were implemented across Asia During the time of this competition the main Five Nations division was dominated by Japan South Korea and Hong Kong the only three teams never to have been relegated to a lower division Asia Rugby Championship 2015 onward Edit The competition was revamped again for the 2015 season as the Asia Rugby Championship Under the new format the top three teams formed a Tri nations division A promotion relegation challenge was instituted whereby the Division 1 winner had to defeat the Tri nations third place getter to gain promotion for the next season Format EditThe current format sees the competition separated into various divisions with a promotion and relegation format operated into each division However this only applies to Division 1 through 3 as the loser of the Tri Nations Division will play a play off match against the winner of Division 1 to determine the third Tri Nations team for the following year Where as the winners of Division 2 will automatically replace the loser of Division 1 and the two bottom placed teams in Division 2 will both be relegated down to one of the three regions in Division 3 West East or South Central Each of the three regions are made up three teams and as of 2015 only the winners of the South Central and East divisions can be promoted to Division 2 This is because the teams competing in the West region are not considered as full members by World Rugby In 2015 in the main Tri Nations division each team played each other on a home and away basis picking up 5 points for a win and 3 for a draw 2 additional points are up for grabs through bonus points but in order to earn them teams need to score 4 or more tries in a match or when losing lose by 7 points or less In 2016 the points awarded were changed to 4 points for a win and 1 point for a draw with bonus points the same For all Divisions 1 through to 3 nations will only play each other once with one of the included teams hosting all matches at home These teams will also aim to pick points up for a win or draw and gain bonus points For all divisions the team with the most table points wins their respective divisions and if possible earns promotion to the next division Current divisions EditAs of 2022 the competition divisions are Tri Nations Hong Kong Malaysia South Korea Japan Division 1 Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka United Arab Emirates Division 2 Pakistan Thailand Division 3West Iran Lebanon Qatar Central Mongolia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan South Bangladesh India NepalPrevious winners EditAll time summary Edit As of the 2022 Asia Rugby Championship RankTeamChampionRunner upThird placeTotal1 Japan2550302 South Korea5167283 Hong Kong3815264 Kazakhstan02025 Thailand01346 Sri Lanka01017 Chinese Taipei0033 Malaysia00339 Singapore0011 United Arab Emirates0011Totals 10 entries 33333399Asia Rugby Championship Edit Year Edn Host Teams Final placingsAsian Rugby Tournament Winner Runner up Third Fourth1969 I Tokyo 5 Japan Hong Kong Thailand Taiwan1970 II Bangkok 7 Japan Thailand Hong Kong Singapore1972 III Hong Kong 7 Japan Hong Kong Thailand Singapore1974 IV Colombo 8 Japan Sri Lanka South Korea Malaysia1976 V Tokyo 8 Japan South Korea Chinese Taipei Thailand 2 1978 VI Kuala Lumpur 7 Japan South Korea Singapore Thailand1980 VII Taipei 8 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese Taipei1982 VIII Singapore 8 South Korea Japan Hong Kong Malaysia1984 IX Fukuoka 8 Japan South Korea Chinese Taipei Thailand1986 X Bangkok 8 South Korea Japan Thailand 3 Chinese Taipei1988 XI Hong Kong 8 South Korea Japan Hong Kong Chinese Taipei1990 XII Colombo 8 South Korea Japan Hong Kong Thailand1992 XIII Seoul 8 Japan Hong Kong South Korea Thailand1994 XIV Kuala Lumpur 8 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese Taipei1996 XV Taipei 7 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese TaipeiAsian Rugby Champs Div I Winner Runner up Third Fourth1998 XVI Singapore 4 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese Taipei2000 XVII Aomori 4 Japan South Korea Chinese Taipei Hong Kong2002 XVIII Bangkok 4 South Korea Japan Hong Kong Chinese Taipei2004 XIX Hong Kong 4 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Chinese Taipei2006 XX Hong Kong 3 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Asian Five Nations Winner Runner up Third Fourth2008 XXI round robinhome or away 5 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Kazakhstan2009 XXII 5 Japan Kazakhstan South Korea Hong Kong2010 XXIII 5 Japan Kazakhstan Hong Kong Arabian Gulf2011 XXIV 5 Japan Hong Kong United Arab Emirates Kazakhstan2012 XXV 5 Japan South Korea Hong Kong United Arab Emirates2013 XXVI 5 Japan South Korea Hong Kong Philippines2014 XXVII 5 Japan Hong Kong South Korea Philippines Asia Rugby Championship Winner Runner up Third Fourth2015 XXVIII home and away 3 Japan Hong Kong South Korea 2016 XXIX 3 Japan Hong Kong South Korea2017 XXX 3 Japan Hong Kong South Korea2018 a XXXI 3 Hong Kong South Korea Malaysia2019 a XXXII 3 Hong Kong South Korea Malaysia2022 XXXIII play off 3 Hong Kong South Korea MalaysiaNotes Relegated to the division below Able to be challenged by the winner of the division below to play in a promotion relegation play off a Japan as hosts of the 2019 Rugby World Cup did not defend their Asia rugby Championship title in 2018 to allow the Tri Nations competition to form part of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Asia qualification process Instead of returning to the trinations for 2019 Japan played the Pacific Nations to prepare for the World Cup Division tournaments Edit Year Div Host Teams Final placingsARC Divisions Winner Runner up Third Fourth1998 2 Singapore 6 Singapore Sri Lanka Thailand Malaysia2000 2 Ōwani 4 Singapore China Sri Lanka Thailand2002 2 Bangkok 7 Thailand Arabian Gulf Singapore Kazakhstan2004 2 Hong Kong 4 Singapore Thailand Kazakhstan Arabian Gulf3 4 China Sri Lanka India Pakistan2007 2 Colombo 6 Kazakhstan Sri Lanka China Chinese Taipei3 3 Iran India Pakistan Asian Five Nations Divisions Winner Runner up Third Fourth2008 1 Taiwan 4 Singapore Chinese Taipei Sri Lanka China2 Thailand 4 Thailand Malaysia India PakistanP Guam 3 Philippines Guam Brunei C Sri Lanka 3 Iran Uzbekistan KyrgyzstanSE Indonesia 3 Indonesia Laos Cambodia2009 1 Dubai 4 Arabian Gulf Chinese Taipei Sri Lanka Thailand2 Malaysia 4 Malaysia China India Pakistan3 Philippines 4 Philippines Guam Iran IndonesiaC Uzbekistan 3 Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Mongolia SE Laos 3 Laos Brunei Cambodia2010 1 Singapore 4 Sri Lanka Singapore Malaysia Chinese Taipei2 India 4 Philippines India Thailand China3 Indonesia 4 Iran Pakistan Guam Indonesia4 Kazakhstan 4 Jordan Uzbekistan Almaty Select Mongolia2011 1 South Korea 4 South Korea Singapore Philippines Malaysia2 Thailand 4 Chinese Taipei Thailand Iran India3 Indonesia 4 China Guam Indonesia Pakistan4 Dubai 4 Qatar Lebanon Jordan Uzbekistan5 Cambodia amp Laos 2 Laos Cambodia 2012 1 Philippines 4 Philippines Sri Lanka Chinese Taipei Singapore2 Malaysia 4 Thailand Malaysia Iran China3 Indonesia 4 India Guam Indonesia Pakistan4 Dubai 4 Qatar Lebanon Jordan Uzbekistan5 Cambodia 3 Laos Brunei Cambodia 2013 1 Sri Lanka 4 Sri Lanka Kazakhstan Chinese Taipei Thailand2 Malaysia 4 Singapore Malaysia Iran India3 4 Qatar Guam Indonesia China4 Dubai 4 Lebanon Pakistan Uzbekistan Laos5 Cambodia 2 Cambodia Brunei 2014 1 Dubai amp Hong Kong 4 Kazakhstan Singapore United Arab Emirates Chinese Taipei2 Qatar 4 Malaysia Qatar Iran Thailand3E Laos 4 China Guam Indonesia Laos3W Pakistan 4 Lebanon Uzbekistan India Pakistan4 Brunei 3 Mongolia Cambodia Brunei ARC Divisions Winner Runner up Third Fourth2015 1 Philippines 4 Sri Lanka Philippines Kazakhstan Singapore2 Malaysia 4 Malaysia United Arab Emirates Chinese Taipei Thailand3E Indonesia 3 Guam China Indonesia 3SC Uzbekistan 2 Uzbekistan India 3W Lebanon 3 Lebanon Iran Jordan2016 1 Malaysia 4 Malaysia Sri Lanka Philippines Singapore2 Uzbekistan 4 United Arab Emirites Thailand Guam Uzbekistan3E Thailand 2 Laos Indonesia 3WC Qatar 3 Qatar Lebanon Iran3W Jordan 3 Jordan UAE Shaheen Saudi Arabia2017 1 Malaysia 4 Malaysia Sri Lanka Philippines United Arab Emirates2 Taiwan 4 Singapore Thailand Chinese Taipei India3W Uzbekistan 3 Lebanon Uzbekistan Iran 2018 1 Philippines 2 Philippines Singapore 2 Thailand 3 Chinese Taipei Thailand India3E Brunei 3 Guam China Brunei3C Kazakhstan 4 Kazakhstan Pakistan Mongolia Kyrgyzstan3W Lebanon 4 Lebanon Iran Qatar Jordan2019 1 Taipei 4 Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Chinese Taipei2 Thailand 4 United Arab Emirites Thailand Kazakhstan Guam3ES Indonesia 3 China India Indonesia 3C Pakistan 2 Pakistan Uzbekistan 3W Qatar 3 Qatar Lebanon Jordan2022 2 Pakistan 2 Pakistan Thailand 3C Kyrgyzstan 4 Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Mongolia KyrgyzstanNotes Relegated to the division below Won promotion or the right to a challenge play off for promotion to the division above See also EditAsia Rugby Women s Championship ARFU Asian Rugby Series a former competition that merged with the ARC to become the Asian Five Nations in 2008 Asia Rugby Rugby union in AsiaReferences Edit a b History Asia Rugby 2016 Archived from the original on 21 October 2016 Retrieved 24 December 2015 Asian Championship 1986 Rugby Archive Retrieved 1 April 2018 Asian Championship 1986 Rugby Archive Archived from the original on 2018 06 24 Retrieved 1 April 2018 External links EditAsia Rugby ARFU Asian 5 Nations New structure announced World Rugby Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Asia Rugby Championship amp oldid 1152401176, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
